The 5-ingredient rule Next time you are in the supermarket, pick up a package of "healthy" crackers or a pre-made sauce. Flip it over. If the ingredient list reads like a chemistry textbook, or if you see more than five items you wouldn't find in a home cupboard, you are holding Ultra-Processed Food (UPF).
Designed to deceive These products are engineering marvels. They are designed to be hyper-palatable, bypassing your body's natural "fullness" signals. They are cheap to produce and last forever on a shelf. But the cost is transferred to us. Recent studies link high UPF consumption to inflammation, poor metabolic health, and a dulling of the palate.
Reclaiming the palate The danger of UPF isn't just physical; it blunts our appreciation for real flavor. A strawberry tastes less sweet after a diet of strawberry-flavored syrup.
The way out The solution is not to grow your own wheat or churn your own butter. It is simply to buy things that are ingredients, rather than things that have ingredients. A bag of lentils. A tin of tomatoes. A block of feta. It takes a bit of cooking, yes. But the reward is a body that runs on clean fuel, not industrial filler.